EUROPEAN UNION COHESION POLICY

Cohesion Policy is the only policy in the world that implements equalization of the development of so different territorial units. The impact of Cohesion Policy on the development of Member States has to be attributed to the economic development levels of the Member States, the size of the Member State, its economic structure, political situation, administrative traditions and the ability to exist and overcome economic crises. The most significant financial instruments used for attaining the objectives of the Cohesion Policy are the various EU Funds. Regarding the assistance of the strategy Europe 2020, the most significant investment in Member States is related to the development of less developed regions, rural support and the Cohesion Fund. During the researched period, the Cohesion Policy has affected the economic achievements of the Member States. Evaluating the economic development indicators of the EU Member States, it can be concluded that they differ significantly from the indicators described in the EC third and fourth report and move away attainment of the goal of Europe as a developed economic region to unforeseen future. The current experience indicates that the funding allocating for implementing the Cohesion Policy has been insufficient. In the future, the Cohesion Policy requires looking for additional alternative types of resources along with the existing ones, developing new forms of governance, developing qualitative indicators for measuring the development. The research aim: to analyse the development of the Cohesion Policy from 1988.